Sunday, May 06, 2012

q+a and The Nation review

The NationIt's a 'right wing special' this week, I did email Richard Harman and ask him if that means next week will be a 'left wing special but he told me the left wasn't in the crap. Kind of him sure, but still as fair and balanced as Fox News.

It may have helped to have had someone from the Left on to help dissect why ACT are dying, but perhaps a leftie would have spent the whole programme laughing at ACT's demise.

I certainly would have.

So its the sadistic Stephen Franks, the hypercritical Rodney Hide and the god bothering Colin Craig. How on earth can a political party that only gained 1.07% of the vote get an entire show dedicated to them?

I'm going to love seeing the right try and defend neo-liberalism after it died in 2007.

Duncan Garner and Colin James are on, always a brilliant dialogue. They pick up the points I've been noting re an Epsom deal in Rodney for Colin Craig and the possibility of a NZ First - National Party 2014 Government.

The Nation mourn the death of ACT the way an requited lover slashes their wrists. I love how David Garrett writes on whaleoils site now, it's the grumpy and sulky show over there now.

Rodney is trying to spin as best he can. Yawn. Everyone wants Banks head on a platter, trying to defend him is embarrassing. Trying to marry the Conservative Party's hellfire & brimstone social conservatism to free market philosophy is like attaching Marxism to reality tv.

What is important is that the Conservative Party have walked away from free market philosophy. This is the crux of the entire show and The Nation seem to have missed it. The Free market has failed, so much so that even the God Squad are walking away from it, that spells ACTs doom more than anything else highlighted in this debate.

The borrowing boogeyman by Franks is bullshit, its not Government borrowing that's the problem, it's private borrowing. Cullen did what you are supposed to do in boom years, pay the debt down, but the user pays free market dogma has privatized debt so individuals carry the cost themselves.

Now The Nation spend time sucking up to the next right wing think tank. The Nation is usually pretty right wing, but todays overload is too much, The Nation doesn't 'get' that the free market theology is over, austerity politics can't work in a democracy. I'm trying not to smirk listening to someone with a german accent lecture me on market purity.

I'm off to watch Family Guy reruns on Comedy Central.

Final point re Shearers leadership, Bill claimed after the Herald digi poll that the criticism stopped - ridiculous claim. Labour went up despite Shearer, not because of him. The Herald digi poll is the worst landline poll in the country, it claimed Banks and Brown were neck and neck and Brown won by a landslide. Listening to the Herald digi poll is a grasping straw too far.

q+aPippa Jefferies has been nice enough from TVNZ publicity to update me with what is on the show weekly (after I bitched about getting nothing last week).

On the panel this week, Dr Bryce Edwards, former NZ First MP Ron Mark and former Waitakere mayor and Labour Party Guru, Bob Harvey.

Awful news bulletin thing that never works is on. Paul Holmes looking fatter by the day, fluffs his monologue pacing again.

Tariana Turia on with Shane over dirty filthy smokers. Soft interview, very weak.

The panel point out banning tobacco will only feed the black market. Edwards notes she doesn't sound like she's a leader about to step down.

The intergenerational theft of taxing students more with a higher threshold of payments is given a once over lightly by Holmes and Steven Joyce. Very chummy interview. Yawn. How are student borrowers supposed to afford kiwi saver and a new housing bubble? Steven Joyce sells the user pays philosophy which has seen private debt spiral out of control, which the Government then uses to argue why we have to cut back on spending to avoid downgrades. It's a ridiculous argument that just gets us into more and more counter productive outcomes.

Ron Mark makes some very good points about why the student loan increase will hurt National very quickly. He's very good.